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International Women’s Day 2018

8 March 2018

Women’s equality has made positive gains but the world is still unequal. International Women’s Day celebrates the social, political and economic achievements of women while focusing global attention on areas requiring further action.

Each year International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8, with the first day being held in 1911. Thousands of events occur to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women. Organisations, governments, charities, educational institutions, women’s groups, corporations and the media celebrate the day.

Our Head of Marketing & PR, Amelia Okell, explains what International Women's Day means to her, and her thoughts on a future with a more diverse workforce for creative industries.

“What excites me about International Women’s day is the fact that we are celebrating not just gender parity, but diversity. The creative sector, in particular, feeds off diverse thinking, and it is by celebrating the different values, outlooks and motivations of their employees that such businesses can succeed.”

“It’s a subject that should be considered all year round. However, an official day of acknowledgement acts as a prompt to those in positions of authority to truly consider their workforce and whether it is balanced, fair and inclusive.”

“There’s been no lack of attention on the subject of equality in the Creative industries over the past few years – in fact, it is one of the most frequently written about topics in trade press. With this focus though, one of the things that has frustrated me is that too much emphasis has been placed on gender over worth. All too often I have been approached about speaking engagements with the request being not ‘please can you send the best expert in this field’ but ‘please can you send a woman, we want to look as though we’re balanced.’ Of course, I agree with the sentiment, but it’s unfortunate that this has to come as a specific request, rather than a natural outcome.”

“Nonetheless, there is no doubt the industry is moving in the right direction, and with all the conversation it sparks, International Women’s day can be considered as one of the driving forces to positive change.” - Amelia Okell, Head of Marketing & PR at Imagination